Romario's Photobook
by Tai-sensei
Summary: A series of one shots dealing with Romario.  These all stand alone but all are based on events in Sir Apropos's Mafia Games Universe.  I have permission I promise.
1. Driving Lessons

**Disclaimer**: I don't own KHR but this story idea is mine and is connected to the Sir Apropos's Mafia Games Universe.

**A/N**: Takes place 7 years before the series and 10 years before Sir Apropos's Mafia Games.

Romario squealed like a man as the compact car flew down the narrow road. Pedestrians screamed and jumped out of the way as they passed, three police cars chasing them with sirens blaring.

"Boss! Maybe I should drive!" Romario yelled over the sound of the roaring engine.

"No worries I got it Pops!" the blond 15 year old yelled from the driver's seat as he jerked the wheel suddenly, throwing them into oncoming traffic in order to miss a slow moving van.

"Aahh!" the older man yelped, clutching the 'package' tighter as they barreled toward a mass of cars. "Boss!"

Dino swerved back to the right side of the rode barely missing the front of the van. "Relax Old man I told you I have it handled! Woah!"

"Right Boss! Right! Right!" Romario screeched at him.

"Alright Jeez," the kid growled indignantly. He jerked the wheel violently to the side throwing Romario and the oh so precious package against the passenger side door. "There I turned right what's the big deal?"

"We have to get to the pickup point Boss. We can't just lead thes guys back to the house!"

"Oh yeah! This way is faster" the teenager yelled turning left violently before taking a curve too fast so he was driving along the train tracks.

"Boss what are you . . ." Romario began annoyed that the kid wasn't following the established route.

"I'm losing these guys and getting us where we need to go. I know what I'm doing okay!"

"Losing them? Boss they are closer now."

"Not for long! Hahaha!"

"What?" A long whistle of an approaching train cut through the sound of racing engine and made Romario's blood run cold. "Boss you can't possibly think . . ."

"It'll get rid of them!" Dino yelled looking back to the chasing police cars.

"Boss no! Don't you dare!" Romario yelled, trying to convince his future boss this was crazy. The stubborn kid ignored him so he pulled out the big guns as they neared the railway crossing. He could see the train racing to the side of them, gaining on them. "DINO EMILLO CAVALLONE DON'T YOU DARE!" he shrieked just as the hyper active teen threw them into a ninety degree turn, catapulting them over the tracks.

"TOO LATE POPS WE CAN MAKE IT!" the teen crowed back at him.

Romario couldn't help the totally unmanly squeal that came out of him as they passed in front of the train, close enough that he could see the driver's frightened face. Then suddenly the car was spinning to a stop on the far side of the tracks.

"Holy shit . . . I can't believe we actually made it!" Dino panted laughingly his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. He couldn't help but start to laugh as he pried them free, adrenaline still pumping through him. "Romario did you see that . . . did you see how awesome that was!" he asked excitedly, looking to the other seat only to find it empty. "Romario?"

The teen looked around in concern before trying to open the door. It was dented in and he couldn't force it open so he climbed out the open window. He barely managed to keep from tripping before looking around again. "Romario?" he asked in real concern.

He stopped when he saw the older man hunched over, package in hand and leaning against a lamp post. Dino stumbled quickly over and clapped the man on the shoulder. "You alright Pops?" the teen asked brightly.

Romario tensed under his hand before shoving him roughly away.

"Romario? What . . .?"

*SLAP*

"Oww what the hell was that for!" Dino yelled rubbing the side of his head where the older man had boxed him.

"You . . . You . . . YOU. . . ." Romario sputtered too angry to speak at this point.

"Me?" Dino snapped back like a smart ass.

"YOU ARE THE STUPIDEST BRAT I HAVE EVER MET IN MY LIFE AND IF YOU EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN I WILL . . . I WILL . . . "

"You'll what?" the teen asked snottily.

Romario glared at him a second before boxing his ears again and stalking away.

"OWW . . . HEY!"

"Shut up . . . it's a block to the pickup point and we're walking SILENTLY the rest of the way," Romario growled, signaling the end of the conversation as he stomped away.

Dino just sighed moodily and followed the older man, dragging his feet as he went.


	2. One for the Team

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but this story idea is mine.**

**A/N: This is a story based on events described in Sir Apropos's Mafia Games and is also a prequel to Language Barriers.  
**

He didn't remember hitting the ground. He was walking beside his 16 year old boss explaining to the angry teen why mafia boss or not he wasn't allowed to wander into a strip club, even if his family owned it. A sudden movement caught his eye. His arm moved on its own, shoving the still arguing teen out of the way and the next thing he knew something slammed hard into his shoulder and he was on the ground looking up at the sky. It felt like someone was digging a red hot stake into his flesh and he realized he'd been shot.

Blood was rushing into his ears so loud he couldn't hear anything else as his heart pounded, pain and adrenaline taking his breath away. He blinked his eyes quickly; thankfully his glasses had stayed on. Dino . . . he had to check on Dino. He shifted his uninjured arm weakly, trying to push himself up.

He flinched when a hand pushed hard on his chest, holding him down. Suddenly he was looking up into the pale wide eyed frightened face of his boss.

"Romario!" he said, voice high pitched from strain and suddenly the sound of the world came rushing back. He could hear people rushing about, a struggle just out of his line of sight. Voices were raised, shouting in a mix of Spanish, French, and his native Italian. "Romario!" Boss yelled jostling his chest, panic creeping into his voice.

Romario groaned in response. "Easy Boss. I'm alright," he grunted grabbing the kid's trembling hand that still held on to his bloody lapel. "Are you hurt Boss? Did you get hit?" Romario asked quietly, keeping his voice stead even as the pain burned through him and his head spun.

"I . . . I'm okay. I called someone. Help is on the way," Dino stammered, breathing hard and shallow.

"Boss . . . calm down. Take a deep breath."

"Romario . . . you . . . you're bleeding really bad. . . What do I do?"

"It's alright Boss, just a shoulder. Don't worry. It's gonna be fine," Romario soothed, trying to help himself and his still inexperienced boss stay calm. ""The shooter . . . what happened to the shooter Boss?"

"Gianno shot him . . . in the leg. He and two others are taking him away now," Dino said quickly.

"Where's Carlos?"

"Here Sir," Carlos answered from somewhere above his head.

"Give Boss your jacket," Romario ordered, "and keep an eye out. You're all he's got until the others get here."

"I understand," Carlos assured him as he handed his black suit jacket to the kneeling teen.

"What do I do with it?"

"I need you to put pressure on my shoulder Boss. Just until the Doc gets here okay. Can you handle that?"

The blond teen nodded, balling up the expensive material and pushing it tightly against his right hand man's bloody shoulder.

"Got to be harder than that Boss. You have to put pressure on it," Romario said firmly. He couldn't help the groan that slipped out as Dino pressed forcefully down on his wound.

"I'm sorry Romario."

"It's okay Boss, you're doing a great job. Keep holding it down," the older man forced out through clenched jaws.

"Okay," the teen answered shakily, shifting closer to him. "Romario?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks."

"Heh . . . anytime Boss."


	3. Language Barriers

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but this story idea is mine. **

**A/N: this is a Romario/Kusakabe Tetsuya story with some mentions of D18. It can stand alone, but it also can be placed before Sir Apropos's Mafia Games.  
**

Romario was trembling when he left his young boss's room, his hands and shirt smeared with blood. He swallowed hard, trying to focus on the group of worried faces gathered in front of him.

"Romario is he . . . What's going on?" Carlos asked breathlessly.

"Is the Boss . . ."

"There's so much blood . . ."

"We gonna get 'em back?" a chorus of voices questioned him. The older man opened his mouth to answer but his throat tightened and he couldn't speak.

"Tell the Herbivores to stop crowding before I bite you to death," a sullen voice growled behind him.

Romario flinched, stepping out of the door way quickly.

Hibari glared at all of them hatefully as he stepped fully out of the bedroom. The black suited men glared back, not understanding enough Japanese to realize his threat.

"Guys, crowding the door isn't going to help Boss. Go get some rest," Romario told them firmly though his voice was soft.

"But what about . . ." Carlos insisted.

"We can't make a move until we know if . . . until we know more," Romario interrupted, pushing the younger man towards the exit. He waited until the crowd had finally cleared away before he turned to go himself. He was stopped by a painful grip on his shoulder.

"We aren't done here Herbivore. I want to know what happened."

Romario sighed before turning back to look the angry young man in the eyes. "It was an ambush, Hibari-san. A minor family, one we didn't bother to watch. Used a kid to get close. Took us by surprise," he said awkwardly, his mind too scattered to form real sentences in the complex tongue.

"Are you really saying that a child snuck up on you and put three bullets into your boss before you could do anything?" Hibari growled impatiently. "That's pathetic. We'll be continuing this conversation very soon Herbivore," Hibari finished dismissively.

Romario breathed a sigh of relief at getting to live and stumbled down the hall towards the guest room. He didn't think he could sleep, but the blood drying on his skin was starting to itch and make him feel sick. He grabbed a towel from the connected bathroom, laying it on the floor to catch his clothes as he pulled them off. The carpet was dark but he'd save it from blood stains if he could. The jacket stripped off easily, but his white shirt stuck to him stubbornly, pulling at the hair on his chest where the blood had soaked through and dried. He pulled it away roughly and started to wash his hands.

The water was hot, so hot it scalded his hands, but as he watched the pink water wash down the drain he couldn't bear to have it any cooler. His breath caught in his throat suddenly and he coughed, ignoring his burning eyes in favor of his burning hands.

'_That was close,'_ he thought. _'An inch to the left and it would have hit a lung.'_ His breath hitched again. _'So stupid. A kid that young carrying a gun that big.'_ He sniffed hard, scrubbing at his hands even more vigorously. _'How didn't I see it? The kid practically had a sign screaming 'I'm an assassin'.'_ His breath was catching more often and his eyes were leaking. _'Just an inch. One goddamned inch.'_ His hands were bright red and painful as he clenched them under the water so hot it was steaming up the mirror.

He turned off the water and stepped back into the small bedroom. _'He could be dead. The boss could be dead. So stupid. When did I become so stupid?' _He picked up the small chair in the corner with stinging burnt and scratched hands. "He could be dead," he said in a strangled voice as he threw the chair hard. The sound it made as it smashed wasn't satisfying so he grabbed the lamp by the bed and threw it too.

There was a pure tinkling crash as it hit the mirror above the dresser. Only half the glass was broken though, and he was out of things to throw. He crossed the room in two strides and smashed his red burnt hand into the remaining glass, trying to destroy it all. To destroy the memory of his boss on the dirty floor of a small café bleeding everywhere and staining his peach dress shirt rusty red. The kid-mafia boss or not that's what he was-the kid he'd cared for for over 23 years had almost died in him arms. Dino had almost died.

Romario couldn't help his tears or quiet his strangled sobs; all he could do was hit the shattered mirror again not noticing the glass that dug into his already burnt fist. He felt a scream start to build in his throat and suddenly arms were around him pressing him back into a warm body and pinning his damaged hands to his sides.

His first instinct was to struggle, to get free. He pulled his chest forward while pressing his legs back, grunting as the arms around him tightened.

"Shhh . . ." a man's deep voice rumbled vibrating the chest against his back. Romario paused, blinking his eyes to try and clear them. More rumbling and he heard words, words he knew but couldn't focus on long enough to understand.

"Tetsuya?" he asked softly. The arms around him loosened slightly allowing him to take a deep breath. The younger man was talking again but all the Italian could catch with the rushing in his head was the name Cavallone. The rest was too fast, too confusing, for him to take in.

"I . . . don't understand," he whispered, trying to focus on the strange words as tears started gathering in his eyes once more. It wouldn't stop now. He shook his head and tried to pull free of the still strong hold. "I don't understand Tetsu. . . . I don't understand," he said again. The words fell from his mouth like the tears from his eyes, fast and seemingly unending. Then he was crying even harder and his voice was growing louder until he was almost shouting "I don't understand!"

He almost fell as he was quickly spun around. Then Tetsuya's hands were on his shoulders shaking him roughly as the man yelled his name, "ROMARIO!"

The older man paused, silent and staring, at the young man in front of him. Tetsu's face was pale, unnaturally so, his dark eyes wide but tired. He looked scared.

"Romario," he said again softly this time. "Breathe. Doctor said . . . Cavallone will . . . be better fast . . . Awake now," Tetsu stammered out in broken Italian.

'_We need to work on that,'_ Romario thought absently, his mind confused. They normally spoke Japanese, Romario was fairly fluent when he was coherent. But now he wasn't and as hard as the other man was trying he couldn't quite get what he was saying.

"Do you understand Romario? Dino is awake," Tetsuya tried again slowly.

"Awake?" Romario repeated in Japanese to make sure he understood and Tetsu nodded. "Oh thank God," the Italian whispered, crossing himself, before leaning heavily against Tetsuya's chest barely able to hold himself on suddenly shaky legs. He wrapped his bare arms around the younger man's neck, careful of his now bleeding fist. In return Tetsuya wrapped his arms around the older man's waist, resting his chin against the bowed head of dark but graying hair.

"Okay now?" he asked hesitantly.

Romario nodded against him, sniffing. "Yeah I'm okay."

"Clean up?" Tetsu asked softly, kissing the older man's ear.

"Yeah . . . soon. For now just hold me okay," Romario whispered back nuzzling his tear stained face into the younger man's neck. He'd clean up soon and go deal with the doctor and Boss and Hibari soon, but not yet.


End file.
